


Normalness Leads to Sadness

by Nefertiti1052 (Succubusphan)



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Cuteness overload, Fluff, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Kid Fic, M/M, only the right amount for a fic kid, slight angst, the families are mentioned in passing a few times but they are not big characters in the fic, this fic reaches until they are adults
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-26
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-08-08 02:58:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16421072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Succubusphan/pseuds/Nefertiti1052
Summary: Ten year old Phil makes a new friend during his family holidays and his life changes forever.





	Normalness Leads to Sadness

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Bingo Phandomficfest, prompts added at the end to avoid spoilers. Betaed by grammarly and myself only.

Years couldn’t come fast enough for Phil. He thought it was absolutely unfair that his brother got to stay back from family vacations, could go out without much more than letting their parents know, could have a girlfriend and Phil could do _none_ of those things. If someone was bound to set the house on fire it would more than likely be Martyn… well, Phil _sometimes_ had small “accidents” and broke stuff or hurt himself, but he was getting better at avoiding those. This year he hadn’t even broken _any_ bones in his body and he had only hidden the pieces of _one_ smashed vase, and his mother hadn’t even noticed, so that _definitely_ didn’t count.

 

The point was, he _hated_ that every single aspect of his life was dictated by his parents.

 

So here he sat in Australia of all places, lounging by the hotel pool, wanting both to jump into the water and to avoid the scorching sun. He didn’t want to burst out in flames, so he made his plans with a lot of care. He put his normal 50spf sunblock and added another layer of his mom’s 35spf; he supposed that 85spf was enough. He wished they had another 50 spf to be on the same side but he would have to make do. His parents watched him closely, but as their only requirement was that he was protected from the sun, so they didn’t comment. Then, he put on his favourite blue bucket hat and holding onto it, he jumped into the pool with a splash.

 

He submerged and swam a distance much shorter than he thought he could manage, but that was fine. He would have to keep eating the fish food and practice to get better at it. He gave it another go and got a bit further, but he ran out of air and emerged from the water dramatically, as if he was a whale, only to find he was face to face with another boy.

 

Dan was currently lazing around in the pool having been told off by his mom for splashing. He was _bored_. He turned as he saw a weird kid jump into the pool with a splash, wearing a hat and all and his parents making absolutely _no_ comments about it. He frowned; life was so difficult sometimes, it seemed that his parents wanted him to have _no_ fun. _Ever_. He turned to his mum huffing but she only rolled her eyes at him, and slowly got into the pool with his baby brother. _What a day_ , he wished he could have stayed back home with his grandma.

 

He turned around when he heard someone swimming close to him and was surprised to see “weird kid” jumping out of the water like one of the SeaWorld whales but in a much less majestic way. He was covered in a thick white layer of sunscreen and water was dripping from his hat and down to his face.

 

“Hi,” said the boy with a big smile on his face. “I’m Phil! What’s your name?”

 

Dan blushed, a little affronted by the strange and obviously British boy making a conversation for no reason. “I’m Dan,” he said a little suspicious of the other.

 

“How old are you?” the kid asked.

 

“I’m 10,” said Dan flatley.

 

Phil floated a bit moving his arms underwater, “Me too! Do you want to play?”

 

Dan frowned crossing his arms, “What game?”

 

“I don’t know,” he said looking around a bit and smiled. “How about spies!? We could hide around in the pool and take missions to go undetected,” he suggested squinting his eyes and looking from side to side.    

 

“I don’t know…” said Dan unsure about how much he really wanted to talk to someone. All the kids at school liked to constantly make fun of him. This kid didn’t seem to be that kind of a person but Dan couldn’t be sure, and he wanted to save himself from the pain.

 

“Do you have anything better to do?” Phil said tilting his head to the side and looking to Dan’s family. His parents were smiling so Phil waved at them.

 

“Go play with him, Dan,” his mother said waving back at Phil.

 

Dan rolled his eyes, but Phil didn’t give up. He extended his hand to Dan and asked: “Friends forever?”  

 

Dan smiled, finally giving up. If Phil was not giving up on him, then the least he could do was give him a chance. “Ok, friends forever,” he said shaking Phil’s hand in agreement.

 

\-----

 

The boys spent the best part of the next two weeks playing, running and laughing. They even respected the rule of never leaving the area where their families where. To makes matters simpler, the Howells and the Lesters often went to the beach or the pool together, as well as taking turns in keeping an eye on them.

 

“Karen, would you be ok if we took Dan to dinner just at the hotel restaurant? Our Philly wants to continue talking with him and make plans for his birthday.”

 

Dan held his breath as he and Phil hid not far, listening. He was so excited to join his friend at dinner, they still had so much to discuss. Unfortunately, their mothers decided to lower their voices and talk for a few minutes about something. They were dying to know what was that all about.

 

\----

 

As it turned out, Dan _was_ , in fact, allowed to join Phil for dinner under the condition that they were both in their best behaviour or Dan would be returned to his parents and Phil would be grounded. In reality, they _knew_ the children would be good but they just wanted to make sure that they didn’t cause a ruckus in the restaurant.

 

They all enjoyed a beautiful evening, having dinner in the tables placed outside of the restaurant to let Dan and Phil run around in the garden. They enjoyed chasing after each other, hiding, making noises to confuse the other and laughing.

 

Kathryn was so happy to see Phil finally enjoying a family vacation, she knew her boy was getting into _those years_ , and sometimes she felt like she was losing him, but not now. He finally tried to enjoy his time and played with Dan, smiling so wide that she sometimes thought his face would get stuck like that. She made sure to take as many pictures of them as she could to always help him remember this moment, how happy he was here.  

 

The boys decided that they wanted to celebrate Phil’s birthday with a visit to the Sydney Aquarium and then go down to the beach, so Dan’s parents agreed to let him go with the Lesters and they would meet them at the beach.

 

Dan smiled as he knocked on Phil’s door insistently until he heard foots rushing towards him and the door swung open.

 

“Dan!” Phil said throwing his arms around him and making them swing side to side.

 

“Happy birthday, Phil!!!!” he laughed, “What does it feel like to be eleven, _old man_?!”

 

“It’s _weird!”_ He said scrunching his nose. “I’ll be driving before you know it!?”

 

Dan was let out a shocked laugh, Phil never ceased to amaze him. He could be quiet, in his own little world at one moment, and say the strangest things next.

 

\----

 

Phil felt like a _man_ now, so he had seated his parents down and proposed an agreement to them. They smiled at his youngest child’s antics, but decided to listen to his _proposal_ with an open mind. One thing Phil had discussed with them was that he needed more liberty, and they agreed that _maybe_ it was time to allow him small _little_ things to help him ease into the responsibilities to come. In exchange, Phil would always be honest with them, even if he did something wrong or got in trouble, and he would respect the rules they imposed to keep him safe. He would also slowly start helping with a few chores, and if he was good, he would earn the right to an allowance to spend or save as he wished.

 

Once in the aquarium and excited to be treated with a bit more of leniency, Phil took Dan by the hand and left for the jellyfish tank. As soon as they entered the room, Phil heard his friend gasp. They could hear the ocean loud and clear, its waves crashing, making the water swirl and dance underneath even though the animals were in a pool. The illumination was dim in most parts of the room to let the sudden waves formed by rays of light run across the walls, making everything even more special.

 

Enjoying the entire experience mostly in silence, Phil took a few pictures of his friend staring at the creatures _mesmerized_. He smiled to himself thinking that maybe Dan was just as beautiful as them, even if he didn’t glow in the dark.

 

“Did you know that they never die?” asked Dan absentmindedly.

 

“Who?” Phil asked.

 

“Them,” Dan said pointing at the jellyfish.

 

“ _No way_ , how do you know?”

 

Dan cleared his throat, “I am an expert, didn’t you know?”

 

“Really?” Phil asked suspiciously.

 

“No, you _doofus_. It’s written here,” Dan said as he pointed to one of the signs standing directly underneath a light bulb.

 

Phil burst out laughing and Dan joined, unable to keep a straight face any longer.

 

\---

 

They made their way to the Shark enclosure. It was amazing but also _terrifying_. It made Phil think of  the movie _Jaws 3D_. It consisted of a glass tunnel travelling across the entire tank allowing the visitors the see all the creatures swimming around them at a threateningly close distance.

 

Dan noticed Phil had stopped dead on his tracks at the entrance and frowned, slowly making his way back and putting his hand on Phil’s shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

 

“We can’t go in there, Dan!” Phil said in a panicked voice.

 

“Why not?” Dan frowned.

 

“What if a shark attacks the tunnel, and it breaks, and we have to run, and we are trapped with water up to our shoulders, I’m still so short! I’m 11, Dan. I can’t _die_ yet!?” Phil said with wide eyes, growing exponentially agitated.

 

“Phil, please, _breathe_!” he said staring right into Phil’s eyes and putting both of his hands on Phil’s shoulders. “What are the chances of something like that _actually_ happening?” he tried to reasoned with him.

 

“You never know, it happened in _Jaws_!” he said still a bit disbelieving.

 

“That was a movie, it wasn’t _real_.”

 

“But what if it _was_ real?” Phil asked.

 

“Then I would protect you, Philly. I would _never_ let anything hurt you,” Dan said.

 

“Promise?” Phil pouted.

 

“Promise!” he nodded, “Now come on, let’s take some pictures with the sharks.”

 

The boys walked around the aquarium until Phil’s wrist watch alarm went off.

 

“What’s that for?” Dan frowned.

 

“The first alarm tells me we need to get to the entrance in half an hour. My mom told me we could walk around for an hour and a half if I promised to meet them at the entrance on time.”

 

“Oh,” Dan said a bit sadly.

 

Phil thought, trying to find a way to lift Dan’s spirits.

 

“We are close to the entrance anyway, do you want to go back to the jellyfish before going back?”

 

Dan’s eyes lit up immediately, “Yes!”

 

\---

 

They entered the room once more, listening to the sound of the ocean quietly.

 

Dan grabbed Phil’s hand softly, pulling him towards a stone bench near the wall. “Let’s sit, I want to give you your birthday present,” he said.

 

Phil let  Dan drag him smiling softly; he didn’t think Dan had gotten him anything.  

 

“I want you to think about me every time you see this,” he said extending his hand and slowly opening his palm to reveal a Gengar pin.

 

“I love it! How did you know he’s my favourite pokemon?” Phil said removing his backpack and promptly fastening the clasp of the pin to it and smiling widely.

 

“You mention him every time we talk about the show, so I took a chance,” Dan shrugged.

 

“I will keep him with me at all times!” Phil promised, his eyes shining bright.

 

“You better!” Dan laughed.

 

Looking around to see that nobody was watching, Phil pecked him on the lips before getting up and started to walk away in a hurry.

 

Dan smiled touching his lips and ran after him, “Wait for me!” he said catching up and holding onto Phil’s sweaty hand. Phil didn’t answer but he walked hand in hand with him towards the entrance.

 

\----

 

The families said their goodbyes only one day later. Dan and Phil spoke quietly at the beach only meters away from their hotel before the Howells took a taxi to the airport.

 

“Call me,” Phil said extending his closed hand towards Dan’s and giving him a piece of paper.

 

“I will! I’ll call you and we will have sleepovers!” Dan ventured.

 

Phil smiled sadly, “Of course we will have sleepovers!”

 

“Hey, Phil?”

 

“Yeah?” he said looking towards the sea.

 

“Why did you do that yesterday?”

 

Phil blushed, remembering what he did at the aquarium. “I don’t know, I wanted to.”

 

“So you like me?” Dan asked.

 

“Yeah,” Phil said feeling brave.

 

“Me too,” he said resting his head on Phil’s shoulder.

 

“Do you think it’s wrong because we are boys?” Phil asked.

 

“If it’s wrong, then we can be wrong together,” Dan said, truly meaning it.

 

\----

 

Over the next few years, the boys kept in contact occasionally. They tried their best, but living across the entire country was a real challenge. They barely had any money and meeting again became nothing but an unfulfilled dream.

 

By the time they were fifteen, the calls had gotten less frequent, but they never missed each other’s birthdays, so Dan called and called but nobody picked up until later that night. The person on the other side informed him that the Lesters had moved away and hadn’t left a contact number, but Dan insisted that they wrote down _his_ number to pass it on in case they ever got in touch.

 

Dan skipped school the rest of the week, in favour of getting trashed in the nearby forest with the theatre kids. That’s where he met _her_. She was beautiful and smart, and nice, and unlike Phil, she was right _here_.

 

Dan’s life got increasingly sadder that year. He wished he could talk to Phil, nobody understood him like his best friend did. He cried himself to sleep most nights. Regretting not having kept in touch with Phil, not having made more of an effort.

 

Until one day, it happened. It had taken an entire year and a half, but Phil had found him.

 

As he opened his facebook he was greeted with the notification: Phil Lester wants to be your friend. In his profile picture he was wearing the Gengar pin in his shirt, over his heart. Dan felt like crying.

 

They apologized profusely to each other for not having been more attentive, but at the same time, they _knew_ they would never let it happen again. They made sure of it, by adding each other and following each other in every single social media and instant messaging client, MSN, Facebook, Formspring, Twitter, Tumblr and finally, Skype.

 

Skype allowed them to _finally_ see each other again, face to pixelated face. On October of the following year, after Dan’s 18th birthday,  Phil asked Dan to call him for a quick chat, saying that he needed to discuss something _very_ important.

 

“Hi, Philly!” Dan waved.

 

“Don’t call me that, _Daniel_ ,” he bit back.

 

“Such hostility!” he crossed his arm. “Tell me what you need so desperately from me before I decide to leave!” he said in mock indignation.

 

“Alright, alright. So, My parents are going to Florida for 2 weeks and I was wondering, as you have a car…” Phil said hesitantly.

 

“Are you asking me to come over?” Dan smiled playing coy.

 

“Yes! We can finally have a sleepover!”

 

Dan wiggled his eyebrows, “I see how it is,” he smirked.

 

“Are you coming or not?” Phil asked blushing like a tomato.

 

“I’ll go, but I’ll take the train, so be ready to pick me up.”

 

“Yes!” Phil said raising both of his fists into the air and throwing himself back into his bed.

 

\-----

 

When Dan got off the train in Manchester Piccadilly Station, he couldn’t help but look around, smiling so much, he considered the possibility of his dimples becoming a permanent feature on his face, and then he saw the one he was looking for.

 

They were still around the same height, but now they towered over everyone around them. Phil ran to him as soon and he saw Dan and hugged him tightly, silently vowing to never let him go again.

 

They walked around Manchester city, taking pictures around in the apple store, they went to Phil’s favourite Starbucks and ordered their first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season together, and then they got on the Manchester Eye.

 

The sun was starting to set above the city, purples and pinks painting the most beautiful image over the buildings; it was the perfect moment to ask what Phil had been wanting to ask for so long. He had tried to do it over skype, but he had chickened out, this was _it_. It was all or nothing.

 

He turned to Dan who before he could muster any sort of sentence, pressed his lips against Phil’s in the sweetest kiss he had ever received. Phil felt like his stomach was about to flip over, but he kept his composure and focused on the kiss trying to put all of his love for Dan into it.

 

When they finally broke the kiss, they pressed their foreheads together, smiling.

 

Phil cleared his throat and leaned back a bit. And grabbing Dan’s hand, he asked: “Dan, I’ve been meaning to ask you…”

 

“Yes?” Dan asked feigning ignorance.

 

“Would you be my boyfriend? Like, officially?” Phil asked nervously.

 

“What do you think? Of course, I want to be your boyfriend!” he said throwing his arms around Phil laughing and kissing his face over and over.

 

“Yay!”

 

“Took you long enough to ask!” he said, poking Phil’s arm.

 

Phil giggled letting his tongue peek out of his mouth. “I didn’t take too long Dan. I had this all perfectly planned by the second ever since we were 10!”

 

“You are such a weird person Phil, but I wouldn’t have you any other way.”

 

“Hey, Dan.”

 

“Yeah?” Dan asked, turning towards him.

 

He pecked Dan’s lips and said: “Let’s go home.”  

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Prompts: Kid fic + Holidays + second chance + formsprings + spies + Online romance.
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr: [Succubusphan](http://Succubusphan.tumblr.com/)
> 
> In case you wish to reblog the fic: [Tumblr Link](https://succubusphan.tumblr.com/post/179464873871/normalness-leads-to-sadness/)
> 
> Comments and Kudos are appreciated!


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